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Farewell, My Friend

On Sunday, when I said goodbye to Bonsai before catching a flight I didn’t know that it would be the last time I’d see him. If had known, I would have snuggled and petted him a lot more. About a month ago, Bonsai just stopped eating. He wasn’t interested in his food so we played the game of trying different brands to get his attention again. When that didn’t work we took him to the vet. A few hours and hundreds of dollars later, we found out that he had a mass in his abdomen with suspicions of lymphoma.

I was devastated and didn’t want to believe it. A few days later we had x-rays and bloodwork done and they showed that something was wrong. His white blood cell count and other red flags were extremely high. He was dehydrated and slightly anemic. Over time he rapidly started losing weight and lost interest in drinking water as well. We went through a round of antibiotics, appetite stimulants and prescription cat food that had to be fed to him to through a syringe. After the antibiotics it looked like he might be making a slow recovery. He was voluntarily drinking water again but was still sluggish and a little weak in his hind legs. We were scheduled for more bloodwork and an ultrasound with a biopsy.

On Sunday evening, Big T made a call that I wasn’t expecting. He called to let me know that Bonsai was gone. It was all so sudden. Big T had given him a bath since feeding him had left his fur messy. He left Bonsai to sunbathe while he took Li’l T for a late lunch. Bonsai passed while they were gone. At 11, everyone keeps telling me that he was an older cat and that comes with health problems but he was my baby. He and his litter-mates were found at a few weeks old and I brought him home around 8 weeks.

He was a little spiky haired furball who became a mischievous young adult and a fatty after he was neutered. Bonsai came into my life as I was taking my first steps as adult with my first apartment and job. He was there to welcome home Li’l T from the hospital. He always acted like he didn’t like Li’l T but he’d sneak into his bedroom when no one was looking. Bonsai was my first pet as an adult and my first cat ever. He was more than a pet and I just figured that he’d always be here.

I walked into the house yesterday and saw a receipt for the cremation, his bowls in the kitchen, his mouse toy hidden under a cabinet. There was a sympathy card in the mail from the pet hospital. It’s all just so overwhelming. October has been a LONG month for me and I never saw it ending this way.

Bonsai “the wondercat” you will be missed. 🙁 Until we meet at the Rainbow Bridge.